We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Precious Osuji a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Precious, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

From a young age, though I was a creator, an artist, and an entrepreneur from age six, selling bracelets to classmates and crocheting fine wear for the kids of recess, I never regarded myself as any of these things up until I was about eighteen. What interests me is that over time I have learned that there is a particular outlook people tend to have on people with my labels. Artists — sometimes (most of the time) are kind of weird, and slightly dark individuals. Entrepreneurs — we know what we do well and we stick to that and that only, so you want to call us hard headed. And well, creators just want some recognition and respect for taking such a leap of faith in a scary, judge mental world.
Let me be the first to admit it, artists, yes we are weird. Entrepreneurs, yes we are a little hard headed. And creators? You know there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a big number on your recent reel, or getting the opportunity to work with your idol or an esteemed brand. The recognition you desire is not to mischaracterized as attention seeking. Can we please just call it dream building?
The greatest wisdom I’ve attained in this particular thread of existence is this: “Don’t let your light dim because you are afraid to embrace your uniqueness.”
In a world where there’s so much chaos, you can choose to hold a bright light. This light shines the most when you love yourself, love your weirdness, your flaws as an individual, your stubbornness and attention to detail, your visionary capability, and all the other things that make you special. When you love who you are, you create a ripple effect of positivity around you and your work, and those moments of being misunderstood and mis characterized? They WONT MATTER. So long as you remember that your higher source, your driving factor, your flow state, and your spirit does not owe anyone an explanation. Be unapologetically you.

Precious, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hailing all the way from a small town called Old Bridge, New Jersey, here I am. I would like to introduce myself as Precious Onyinyechi Osuji. In my twenty years of living, I’ve surprisingly accumulated many titles, from makeup artist, founder of Mahogany Media, to portraitist, president, designer, producer, photographer, model, director, you name it.
I attribute my many accomplishments, talents, and enthusiastic endeavors to a few philosophies I have developed early on in life.
Life is a time stamp, from the day we come to the day we go, God has given us solely time and a sense of free will in which we choose what to do with it.
Any great life can be written in advance. Choose your story and live it.
Knowledge is your only barrier. And knowledge of anything can be obtained.
These three philosophies have positioned and empowered me to become fearless in any endeavor whether it be starting a business from scratch, learning a new skill, or comfortably living in nonconformity of societal expectations.
I am most proud of my audacious efforts to dream and achieve big. I went from building a makeup studio with my bare hands at 17, to selling billboards and subway media cards, and doing business with some pretty incredible people by 19.
I often think that one day, I won’t be here anymore. Tomorrow itself is not even promised. So because all we can assume we have is time, we must never be satisfied. There is always more to learn, more to do, more to experience, more to accomplish, and more to remember. That, along with the principles of integrity, reliability, honesty, and responsibility is how I will choose to live my life.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is the belief that I am an island.
Sometime in 2023, I had underwent a serious period of social isolation. Many things contributed to my desire to want to be alone. I changed my number, I lost important contacts, I ruined meaningful friendships due to lack of communication, I didn’t go out much, I hurt my business, etc.
In a time like this solitude may seem selfishly fulfilling, but there’s a phenomenon to life that can never be undermined or ignored: You need people.
You need friends, you need family, you need allies, you need people you can confide in, you need customers, you need employees, you need people to make you smile, and need people whom you can trust and support. Greatness, life, and even the building of your dreams cannot be done without others.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

If I could describe a single view of life in a game form, one of them would go like this:
You have thirty seconds to shoot as many hoops as possible. During this game, you miss some hoops, you score some, things feel like they’re moving really fast, and at some point things feel like they’re moving really slow. You need a specific technique to get the ball in, maybe this is a technique you’ve learned or maybe not. But regardless you try. You start the game knowing that it will at some point come to an end. So you do your best to accomplish as much as you can before time runs out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @newmahogany
• Facebook: Precious Osuji
• Linkedin: @preciousosuji